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ESPN analysts’ Christmas wish list involves College Football Playoff
By Cody McClure
Published:
Is there anything worse than a highly-anticipated game that ends up being totally lopsided?
We’ve seen it all season, particularly in primetime, as ESPN’s Chris Fowler pointed out in a tweet on Sunday.
His longtime broadcasting partner, Kirk Herbstreit, agreed.
In the first three seasons of the College Football Playoff, there have certainly been some blowouts. There have also been a couple of exciting national championship games.
But outside of the back-to-back championship thrillers, the only other semi-competitive game was the 2014 Sugar Bowl between Ohio State and Alabama.
Have a look at these results:
2014
Rose Bowl — Oregon def. Florida State 59-20
Sugar Bowl — Ohio State def. Alabama 42-35
CFP National Championship — Ohio State def. Oregon 42-20
2015
Orange Bowl — Clemson def. Oklahoma 37-17
Cotton Bowl — Alabama def. Michigan State 38-0
CFP National Championship — Alabama def. Clemson 45-40
2016
Fiesta Bowl — Clemson def. Ohio State 31-0
Peach Bowl — Alabama def. Washington 24-7
CFP National Championship — Clemson def. Alabama 35-31
With results like that, it’s understandable why Fowler and Herbstreit are asking Santa Claus for close playoff games this Christmas.
As Fowler noted, only two of the 15 ABC primetime games this season were decided in the fourth quarter:
Dear Santa: all I want for Christmas is close, exciting #CFP games. Our abc prime time slate featured just TWO games (out of 15) that were decided in the 4th Q! Blowout city each week. We’re Not complaining, Santa.. We’re just sayin’. Please. 🙏🏻@KirkHerbstreit @MariaTaylor7
— Chris Fowler (@cbfowler) December 24, 2017
Herbstreit noted how bad the semis have been up to this point:
Feel like we’re due for some good games. Not just this year, but the playoff games have only given fans 1 competitive game out of 6 so far. Here’s to 2 GREAT games on New Years Day!! https://t.co/ePfyrGW5EP
— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) December 24, 2017
Alabama is a consensus 3-point favorite over Clemson in this year’s Sugar Bowl semifinal, while Georgia is a 1.5-point favorite over Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl, according to Vegas Insider.
Cody McClure is an SEC Football Writer for Saturday Down South. He lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he also co-hosts a midday sports radio show for FOX Sports. Cody previously worked for Athlon Sports.
